The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-05-14
ABOUT POSTAGE STAMPS.
BY MRS. e. W. LATIMER.


Are the young people who love to col
lect postage-stamps aware that stamp col
lecting is the hobby Of very potent, grave
and wealthy persons, and that there are
collections of postage stamps in the world
worth many thousands of dollars?
The story of how cheap postage orig
mated has been often told. Fifty-one
years ago, shortly before Queen Victoria
came to the English throne, q traveller
in the North of England stopped to rest
at a country tavern. While sitting on
the bench before the door the village let
ter carrier came up with a letter for
the lgndlady. She took it, looked at it
attentively for few moments, asked the
postage which was two shillings, and then
handed it back TO the carrier, remarking
that she could not afford to pay all that
postage. The gentleman, on hearing her
say this, insisted on paying for the letter,
which she was very unwilling he should
do, and when the letter carrier had de-
parted, she owned to him that there was
nothing inside the letter. She and her
brother lived far apart, both were too
poor to pay heavy postage, and they had
arranged plan by which, by means OF
certain marks on the addresses of the let
tiers, each could once in six months ascer-
tain that the other was in good health and
doing we'll. The traveller was member
of Parliament, Mr. Rowland Hill, who
few weeks later, introduced his plan for
cheap postage into the House OF Com
mons.
When the measure was adopted the
En- giish government offered a prize for
the best design for an envelope to carry it
into effect. The prize was won by MIR.
Muiready, a leading English artist. This
prize composition, though artistic, proved
go unsuited to it's purpose that the Eng
lish postoffice was glad quietly to drop
it, and to substitute an invention of one
of their own post office clerks-the pres
ent postage stamp, which has since been
adopted by all nations. The fret post
age-stamps in England we're generally
called Queens heads The likeness OF
the young queen was excellent, and that
likeness has been retained on Queen Vic
toria coins and stamps in England,
though some postage stamps in the colo
MES represent her as widow and mid
die aged.
The first French postage-stamps were
issued in 1849, during the brief days Of
the republic which proceeded the Second
Empire. Turkey was the last nation in
Europe to adopt postage-stamps and
cheap postage. She did so in 1868.
About 1860 the practice of collecting
postage-stamps began, and very soon
there were offices opened in the great
cities for their sale and barter. Nova
days there are $50 such places in Paris
alone. One dealer boasts that he sells
annually 100000 stamps, and 10000
stamp albums. A fine collection is said
to cost from $4,000 to $4,000. There
are, however, special collections worth
a far larger sum. The finest in the
world belongs to a Spanish nobleman,
son Of the Duchess de Galliera. He be-
gan buying out the collections of two
large collectors, and engaging them in his
service as purchasing agents and custo-
diaus of his treasures: NJ. de Galliera is
said to have spent more than 100000 in
pos,age-stamps. His collection has a Ii
brary TO itself IN his Partisan residence IN
the Rue de Varennes. The stamps are
contained Ia from two TO three hundred
volumes, but no stranger is permitted to
see them, M. de Galliera having announc.
ed that he viii not open his collection to
the public until he considers it complete
which he hopes it will be in 1891.
The next largest collection belongs to
Mt. Arthur Rothsehiid, which is also val
ued at nearly 100000. 1t is contained
in about one hundred beautifully bound
volumes in his library, and is at all times
open to the inspection of his friends. lie
has paid great attention to minute yaria
tons in postage stamps, and has in som'
CASES a dozen specimens of the same
stamp. His collection, if not equal to NJ
dc Galliera's, is on a par with that Of Mr.
PhllDriok, the largest collector il Eng
and. There are other collections in Paril
worth Thirty, fifty, and a hundred thou
sand dollars. Sometimes the dealers il
stamps make successful speculatiOns, a
did the one, who foreseeing the unity o